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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

wanting to stop cars turning in our road in the morning?

17 replies

Monstersinc · 24/02/2009 10:00

We live in a 10 house cul-de-sac about 50 yards from the local secondary school. The school itself has a 'turning circle' for cars to drop off pupils, so keeping the traffic flowing, but this arrangement is still inconvenient for some numbskulls who want to take their time. There are double yellow lines all around our road, which is ok because we can all park on our drives. Every day, cars drive in, pupils alight at their leisure, their parents finish their mobile phone calls, whilst we politely wait for them to finish their business so we can leave the road. This morning, a woman, who had clearly arrived early, parked in the middle of the road (because if you aren't touching the yellow lines, it doesn't count, right?) got out, enjoyed a cigarette, threw the butt in my garden, kissed her child goodbye made a phone call and drove off. Also, because this is quite rural, we have no pavements, so when I leave to walk DS to junior school, we take our lives in our hands dodging the cars swinging into the cul-de-sac to turn around.I know living near a school one has to put up with a certain amount of extra traffic at the usual times, but this is getting beyond a joke. The school have made provision for drop-offs so what is wrong with these people? Should I contact the school? The Police? Have a stand up row in the street as my mother would've done 30 years ago?! There, I feel better already.....

OP posts:
compo · 24/02/2009 10:03

yanbu
but as you say I don't think you can do anything about it and you did choose to live near a school and one day your dd will just be able to wander over the road to school on her own and you'll be glad you don't have to drive her to school

GypsyMoth · 24/02/2009 10:05

It's not really a police issue is it? Speak to school, they can put it in their newsletters.

Monstersinc · 24/02/2009 10:09

Great idea Brie5.

And compo, you are right. We did move here to be in the catchment area, so I may just have to grind me teeth a bit more.
Thanks.

OP posts:
PerArduaAdNauseum · 24/02/2009 10:35

I think you should have a stand-up row in the street - make sure her DC are watching and that you have your hands on your hips in the approved fashion

MadameCastafiore · 24/02/2009 10:44

I think perhaps you should have moved somewhere there wasn't a school!

It does amuse me when people move to a house right near a school knowing the problems they are going to have and then gripe about it.

Was you not aware that there was a school there when you moved?

motherlovebone · 24/02/2009 10:56

YANBU, school has a turning circle. its affecting your quality of life!

Niecie · 24/02/2009 11:01

yanbu - we also live 50yds from my DSs primary school and we have the same thing although not so bad. We don't get people hanging around thankfully although there are plenty of people that think the double yellows don't apply to them. We have a pinch point too (very small cul-de-sac) and some of them park so that this is effectively blocked for all but the tiniest car.

It also means that my not very aware 8 yr old can't be trusted to walk to school by himself in the morning! He is not very aware of what is going on around him at the best of times (he has mild SN which account for this) but you need eyes in the back of your head to get across our small cul-de-sac due to turners, parkers and the huge hedges of the house at the corner.

Contact the school - the governors at our schools have dealt with the problem to an extent and it is better than it was. We have two county council run yellow buses now which means that parents can get their children to school on the bus rather than all of them needing their cars. The school are sometimes able to get a traffic warden to come and wander around a bit which tends to focus the minds of the offenders for a while as well.

You can always say you shouldn't live next to a school but if you don't view the house at school start and finish times and you don't have school age children (as we didn't when we moved here) then you really don't have any idea how thoughtless some people can be. You do expect adults to behave normally when dropping their children off at school when in actual fact they seem to lose all sense of reason for those 2 half hours a day. Weird.

ChopsTheDuck · 24/02/2009 11:14

try the local community police. Every so often ours make a trip up around school run times to keep an eye on what is going on and speak to parents who are breaking traffic rules.

Another idea is to get no stopping marking put on, which also happened up our school. Now we can't even stop or park there with our blue badge.

You wil;l always get some that won't consider others though.

boardergirl · 24/02/2009 11:22

I live in a narrow road very near a school and the cars drive me mad too! Some of the parents arrive at 2pm and sit in their cars for an hour (sometimes with other kids in there bored out of their minds I bet)before school finishes.
It's a small town and no-one can live more than 30min walk away-they're so lazy they can't even be bothered to park in a safer road or the free car park 5min walk away.
I don't know what to do it's very dangerous for the childen at drop off and pick up times - I've thought of asking the council to make the road a permit only zone at these times but I don't know if they'd listen.
Anyway rant over

Stayingsunnygirl · 24/02/2009 11:40

I used to do the 'turn up early and sit' thing sometimes, boardergirl - when my dses were younger - but I have always parked in a proper parking space and would not dream of obstructing anyone's access to their house - that's sheer bad manners, imo.

traceybath · 24/02/2009 11:48

Contact the school.

However do sort of feel that one drawback of living so near a school is the drop-off traffic.

But no excuse for throwing a cigarette butt in your garden - afraid i'd have thrown it back at her.

boardergirl · 24/02/2009 13:02

I know I'm lucky living near school can leave the house at 8.45 and I'm sure I'd drive sometimes if I lived further away. I don't care if other people want to drive I know how whingy tired kids can be I just think it would be better if they could park in a safer place 5 min away surely the majority of people can manage that extra 5 min?

Niecie · 24/02/2009 14:18

My sentiments exactly boardergirl.

Monstersinc · 24/02/2009 16:53

It's just people being selfish and I shall continue to stand at the window looking at them all with total disdain

OP posts:
Sidge · 24/02/2009 17:08

Just because you live by a school doesn't mean you have to put up with people driving and parking inconsiderately though, MadameCastafiore. I live right next door to a school so totally expect extra traffic at certain times of the day and some congestion. It doesn't mean I have to quietly accept people parking on my driveway or chucking their fag butts in my bushes just because I bought a house near a school.

It's like saying you can't complain about people vomiting on your doorstep because you bought a house next door to a pub. It goes beyond the acceptable.

wotulookinat · 24/02/2009 17:11

YANBU speak to the school

loobeylou · 24/02/2009 17:51

we get this sort of issue raised in school newsletter every term and still some selfish idiots ignore the pleas to have consideration for local residents and also NOT to use the staff car park to drop off kids - it is only just big enough to fit the staff cars in it and the central bit has to accomodate 3 coaches coming and going

some parents are deliberately late every day to be able to drive in and drop off almost without stopping. sometimes the caretaker is on the gate to deter them, but as soon as he isn't they are all back to their tricks

some people are just rude and inconsiderate!

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